Algebra will increase the speed of wireless networks by 1000%

24/10/2012

A team of researchers from MIT, Caltech, Harvard and several European universities, has developed a way to increase the performance of wireless networks in 10 times, not spending money on the number of wireless access nodes or increase the range of the signal. This research will have a huge impact on the performance of LTE and WiFi networks.

As such, innovation, called coded TCP, is to completely eliminate the delay caused by the loss of data packets. In wired networks, packet loss is very rare, but in the case of wireless networks, packet loss, took the first place among the factors that reduce the bandwidth. According to Technology Review, the packet loss in WiFi networks, on average, 2% of all transmitted data, for example on the high-speed train, the share of the losses can be up to 5%.

Even a single missing data packet, causing a significant delay because it takes time for the receiver to inform the sender of the packet loss, and then lost packet is sent again.

Researchers have created a coded TCP with a view to packet loss did not increase the delay time and no need to re-send them. TCP packets encoded gathers in blocks and transforms them into algebraic equations that describe these packages. If the data is lost, the receiver can solve the equation and bring the lost data from it. The process of solving equations is a "simple and straight-line", without requiring complex calculations from the router, smartphone or laptop.

During the tests, coded TCP will significantly speed up the transfer of data. Researchers at MIT have found that the WiFi on campus (2% loss) accelerated from 1Mbps to 16Mbps. High-speed train (5% loss), internet speed has increased from 0,5 Mbps up to 13,5 Mbps.

For researchers such stunning acceleration was not a surprise. The TCP was designed for wired networks, where the percentage of lost packets is small. Wireless networks need to introduce the so-called forward error correction, and this is coded TCP.

Of course, the acceleration of the compounds may be expected only when the packet loss. In other cases, coded TCP will not be able to increase the speed. Therefore, the innovation is designed specifically for wireless and mobile networks, where the addition of base stations is a very expensive solution to the problem of loss of packets and coded TCP will be fitting.